For those of you who are following me, you'll soon come to realize that I really enjoy top 10-like blog entries. A lot of people don't, I know, but that's just your too bad!

A new blogger buddy of mine inspired me to begin this top 10 series by asking what my all time favorite series was. I thought about it for a moment and my number one came almost instantly. Sweet. But then I tried imagining what the other nine would be. That was much more difficult. I decided I'd have to give that a bit more thought. Instead I started thinking about what my favorite individual games are. For some reason, that was pretty easy. And so, I present my top 10 favorite games! -Cue epic guitar solo.-

10. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Ah, back when Tony Hawk was still relevant. Back before Activision became evil. And most importantly, back when cheat codes were still utilized! Oh, how I miss cheat codes. Very little beat Tony Hawk in its prime if you were looking for straight up fun. There was just nothing else like it. Competitive, wickedly addictive, totally in with the times, fantastic soundtrack, and it didn't try to take itself too seriously. Or seriously at all, really. And Spider-Man is an unlockable character! Pretty much all you need to know.

9. Pokemon Stadium

Pokemon Stadium is probably the best Pokemon spin-off game ever. The generic stadium battling is great by itself, but being able to import the Pokemon you've cared for for so long from your Game Boy to the game itself to see and battle with in full 3D made it incredible. Then there is the Gym Leader castle where you actually battle through the eight gym leaders of Kanto as well as the Elite Four. It's sort of done in the same format as the main series as well, where you battle a few commoners before each gym leader. What fun! Of course, neither of those modes are what made Pokemon Stadium so addicting. Yes, that's right, the mini games. They totally made Pokemon Stadium what it is. Watch the video. Thank me later.

8. Kingdom Hearts

You got your Final Fantasy in my Disney! You got your Disney in my Final Fantasy! -Crickets.- Ahem, Final Fantasy is a great series, yes, but combining it with the Disney universe proved to be the best idea ever. I never could have imagined something so mature and deep would have been birthed. Being able to travel between different Disney worlds, meeting various established Disney and Final Fantasy characters along the way, was better than anything I could have asked for. It had something for the JRPG-loving me AND the secret Playhouse Disney kid inside. Too bad the Kingdom Hearts story is virtually impossible to follow now.

7. Phantasty Star Online Episode I & II

I think PSO is the first online game I REALLY got into. As far as I can remember, it was my first real introduction to a massive open world game with an emphasis on collectible loot. Trying to find the rarest, most powerful equipment, just something about that motivated me so much to keep playing and leveling up. The mechanics, dungeon designs, and boss battles are all awesome, too! And the OST is flippin' wonderful, and that's saying something since I'm not really one to take notice of video game OSTs. IDOLA... Love it.

6. The Sims

Remember IGN's top 100 gaming moments? Well, playing The Sims for the very first time has to be within my top 10. There is just something so very charming about playing a game about living everyday life. It captured the essence of why I play video games in the first place; to lead a life better than my own. With The Sims, I can achieve anything I want. Unfortunately for me, I haven't been able to relive the same thrill I felt playing the original when playing the sequels.

5. Halo 2

Nothing beats Halo 2 lan parties. Nothing. It's local multiplayer FPS action at its finest. That's why I consider it my favorite FPS, which is funny considering I can't stand the rest of the series. I know a lot of people would choose GoldenEye over it in at instant, but coming from someone that still plays the original on the N64 occasionally, it has not aged well at all. When it came out, yeah, it was pretty much the best thing ever. But playing it now, it doesn't hold up. I don't need nostalgia goggles to enjoy Halo 2.

4. Diablo 2

My fascination with PSO? Yeah, multiply that by about one thousand. Holy. Crap. Nothing matches Diablo 2's massive scale. Awesome, diverse classes, epic boss battles, brilliant level design. And if you ever get bored of that, the hacks increase the already ridiculous level of replayability. Still waiting on a release date for Diablo 3, Blizzard...

3. Super Smash Bros Melee

I had to link that video. Sorry. Really, though, is SSBM absent from anyone's top 10? It's a collaboration so perfectly executed that every single Nintendo fan wet themselves the first time they played it. SSB64 was amazing, but when compared to SSBM, it couldn't even hold a candle to it. Consider SSB64 a demo of what was to come. And a demo of what Kirby could have been.

2. Conker's Bad Fur Day

There's a reason why this game is so damn expensive. It's the best. Well, almost. The single player is rude, crude, and beyond badass. The multiplayer takes that, then improves on it in pretty much every way. With a series of multiplayer modes, each being vastly different from the next, it is impossible to grow bored of such a disgusting, vulgar game. Damn, I want to play now! I wish I still had my copy...

1. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver

You have no idea how hard it was for me to keep from filling this entire top 10 with Pokemon games. I restrained myself to one main title, though. That one title being an updated version of the best generation to ever be released. There is just so much to do in this game that you'd probably never even need to play any of the other titles. Ever. Occupy yourself with just HG/SS and you'll be set Pokemon-wise. That's why I think Game Freak sort of dug themselves a little hole by rereleasing the Gold and Silver generation with so much more to it. They'll never be able to top it. I'll be forever disappointed by their efforts to do so, too.

So there you have it. My favorite games of all time. What are yours? Sound away!~